TF: Prime  Safe and Protected
by Kyas Nonsense
Summary: Continuation of "Caught". Fusion, an Autobot scout, finds herself back with the Decepticons, but this time, she might not want to leave.
1. Battle's Aftermath

**1 Battle's Aftermath**

It was more of a scuffle than a battle, but that didn't really matter after Fusion was struck multiple times by enemy fire. There was energon everywhere she looked, surrounding her in a glowing pool of life's energy. Her body was racked by pain and fear, the latter coming from the sounds of battle further down the hill from where she lay amidst the destruction and death all around. She had been left behind by the Autobots, just as the vehicons had been left behind by the Decepticons. For a moment, she hated all that she had known for most of her life, the sense that she was little more than another body, another tool for the fighting infuriated her. Even Interceptor had continued to follow the fight, stepping over her in his haste to reach the battle. Metalstorm was nowhere to be seen, most likely up high where he could use his missiles to assist the other Autobots.

Slowly, her body was coming back online, though one of the weapons had left a fire burning inside of her very wiring. It felt as though it were racing through the wires, much the way a poison races through the veins of an organic. The fire was causing her to panic slightly, especially as her internal scanners came back online and she realized she had no self-repair system. It was malfunctioning, the area having been hit by the new weapon being the same that housed the system. To keep her processor off of what was happening inside of her own body, she slowly sat up, wincing at the pain of frozen joints and wounds that were still gaping and releasing energon.

If she didn't die on this battlefield, it would be nothing short of a miracle.

Looking about herself, she spotted a vehicon that was down, his lower extremities removed in some sort of blast. She could see the energon that flowed freely from his body, it was beginning to thin and the rush slow down. There was nothing she could do for him, but it was better than concentrating on her own life-threatening damage, so she crawled through the mud and charred muck to his side, feeling the slimy stuff as it seeped into her armor and joints. Not even the protective black covering could keep it out.

Shuddering with exhaustion as a few more systems, ones that had just moments before reactivated themselves, succumbed to the weapon that raged through her body, she plopped down beside the vehicon, noticing how dim his single visor-like optic appeared. He reminded her strongly of D-99, a Decepticon drone she had befriended six years previously. One that had been killed by her torturer for helping her escape. With a shaking hand, she reached out and touched the vehicon's shoulder, delving into his processor and disconnecting the pain receptors so he at least didn't suffer in his last moments on this plane of existence. Once this was accomplished, she allowed her hand to slide down his arm and land in the much at her side, splashing herself with more energon and watery earth.

A sigh escaped her as rain began to fall from the tumultuous skies above, lightening streaking over the battle below. She watched, with little interest, as Interceptor and Arcee attacked one of the leaders of the Decepticons. Tentacles erupted from the ground below their feet and both were thrown off balance. Arcee recovering first, with her far more lithe design. Interceptor slammed into the ground hard enough for Fusion to feel the shockwaves of his impact at the top of the hill. The mech they were fighting turned his single optic and began scanning the group, moving his head until he focused on her, at the top of the hill. Fusion thought she saw his optic blaze with open curiosity, but before she could get a good handle on his reaction, Arcee was on him again. Interceptor was back on his feet as well.

Her interest in the battle was lost after that piercing gaze. She shivered and wrapped her arms about her legs, turning to look at the decimated forest all around. The bodies of multiple vehicons lay about. The Autobots were damaged, but still standing. Optimus Prime had a tendency to avoid the destruction of his own unit. Though, she seemed to be an exception to that rule. Anger was beginning to boil inside of her as she thought about all the times she had seen the other Autobots lifting a comrade and leaving the battle, keeping them protected from the fire of the enemy. It always seemed that they saved their fallen comrades. So, why was she left to die?

These dark thoughts continued to swirl about in her processor, even as her systems shut down, one by one. Shadows flew overhead, breaking through the dark storm clouds. She didn't have the energy to look up and watch as the Seekers joined the battle. It wasn't long before she heard the shout for retreat on the Autobots' side and the brilliantly bright glow of the ground bridge flashed in the corner of her optic.

Shuddering footsteps warned of the approach of others. Voices came to her over the thrumming of the thunder high in the sky above. The rain made everything sound strange to her, or that could be because her audio sensors were beginning to shut down. She was no longer certain, as it seemed her internal scanner had disengaged at some point in time when she wasn't paying any attention. One of the voices seemed to be talking about her, but she didn't know what was being said, so she slowly turned her faceplate so that she was looking at the lower legs of the cycloptic mech. Another mech, with red armor stood beside him. She knew him, but she couldn't remember from where. He was the one who moved closer and lifted her into his arms. The memories were there, but fuzzy and unattainable. Who was he and where was he taking her? She wished she could remember because something deep inside her was screaming at her that she needed to run away from him. That deactivation would be a better choice than allowing him to take her anywhere.

But all this became impossible to care about as she sank down and leaned into his chestplate, her hands crossed over her chest and her optics narrowed to mere slits. Even the intake and release of the air through her vents was becoming regular. She wondered if she were dying. At least, if she were, she was happy where she was, though there was still that niggling fear in the back of her processor.

"The repairs will be made immediately, you need not worry Shockwave, I'll keep the files so you can see the damage you caused," the red mech was speaking with the one with a single optic. Before she heard the response, her audio sensors disengaged and she succumbed to the dark abyss that was threatening her line of vision.


	2. Medical Attention

**2 Medical Attention**

Light and darkness flickered on the other side of the covers to her optics. Slowly, she opened them, feeling the movement of her rescuer's movements as he carried her. There was no more rain, thunder, or lightning and the sound of his feet striking the ground below had changed from a sucking, wet sound to that of something hard and metal. She kept her optics narrowed, being unaccustomed to the glare of the false lights above and around them. The sense that she knew this mech grew until it exploded in her processor, causing her to gasp inwardly. His name hitting her hard and the memories following suit: Knockout.

"Put me down!" the shout stopped the medic in his tracks, forcing him to look down at her. There were two vehicons with him, one on either side. She could see them, barely, as her optics were still fighting her. It seemed the weapon she had been hit with was still doing damage to her sensitive systems.

"And what will you do to force my hand, Sparklet?" Knockout asked, the smug smile that was nearly always present on his face, firmly in place.

Fusion glared up at him, feeling the crusted, dried energon as it cracked on her faceplate, flaking away. The wound there began leaking immediately afterwards. There was nothing she could do to force him. Even if he did set her down, she would fall over, her legs no longer seemed to be under her control, nor were her arms. She, in a sense, was completely at his mercy and he was well aware of that fact. It must have been what he and the other Decepticon had been discussing prior to her momentary memory loss and disengagement from her surroundings.

Instead of responding, she looked away, a sour feeling inside of her spark as he made a chuckling noise and continued to walk forward. She watched as the walls moved past, lights built into them at different points, casting a white glow on her surroundings. She was back aboard the Nemesis, this she felt certain of. Every wire, every cable, every rod in her body screamed that she was back where she had been tortured by the one carrying her. What new havoc did he have planned for her? She had no useful information, had been left out of the loop for a very long time, and had no desire to know what the other Autobots were planning or doing. It had taken them nearly three years to figure out she was still in the United States even. And that only happened because of her friendship and protection of Eva Cruz y Flores, a teenaged Hispanic orphan. So, if Megatron thought torturing her would gain him new insights into the Autobots, he was sorely mistaken.

She considered telling Knockout as much, but changed her mind. If it wasn't what they had her here for, she wasn't sure she wanted to know the real reason. As it was, she had no intentions of being submissive to the medic. He wanted to keep her around the last time he'd had her here so it was only logical to think he probably wanted to keep her here again, even if just as a scientific curiosity. But, if he wanted her around, then he'd have to adjust to her personality, not the other way around. Regardless of how he reacted, she wasn't going to back down this time. No matter what.

At least, as soon as her body was whole again.

When they entered the medical bay, Knockout set her down on the berth nearest his workstation, the holo screen showed the spinning image of a mech, something red moving through the wiring that served as veins in his body. The animation would run until the red took over the mech's body and then restart again. Knockout turned the animation off and turned to run a scanner along her prone form, an image of her internal workings appeared on the screen. The same red glowed in the network of veins that ran just below her unique 'skin'. It seemed her design fought the infection off far better than a normal Cybertronian. Dread filled her spark as she realized what this would mean to the Cyclops, Shockwave. If she didn't get into Knockout's good graces, she would be nothing more than a guinea pig for the big Decepticon scientist.

She had heard stories from other Cybertronians and a few organics about Shockwave's experiments. If he didn't kill her just to perform a dissection and see what made her tick, then he'd use her in one of his many experiments, she was sure of that. He wasn't known for his empathy or sympathy. Everything and everyone else was nothing more than a specimen for his study or research. Fusion found herself wondering how many of his creations she might run into on the Nemesis, if she kept her optics opened. Her processor began turning these thoughts over and over again until, finally, she nearly scared herself into screaming. Being the 'daughter' of a scientist, she had plenty of fodder for some very outlandish ideas. Ideas that Aero would put down as possibilities, but never actually do because of his moral code. Shockwave was not bound by a moral code, as far as Fusion had ever come to understand.

All the while that she had been lost in her thoughts, Knockout had been moving about her, slowly and methodically removing pieces of her armor and examining the wounds she had suffered through the course of the firefight. She could feel every tug, pull, and touch as he did his job as a medic.

"Knock…Knockout?" Fusion stuttered as a wound pulled when he removed a shard of metal from it, sending fire-like spears of pain into her already pain-fogged processor. The thoughts about Shockwave had focused her mind for a little while, only to have the pain build to a crescendo so that she felt it even more when she returned to the world around her.

"Hmm… What is it Sparklet?" his voice was distracted sounding as he set a cloth to an oozing wound and reached for a surgical instrument. Fusion tried not to watch what he was doing.

"You're… you're not going to give me to him are you?" Fusion asked, her optics moving to the screen where her own body appeared, the infection glowing in the scans of her vein network.

Knockout stopped what he was doing and looked down at her, the smug smile replaced by a look of confusion, until he noticed where she was looking. He glanced over his shoulder and smirked, shaking his head.

"If you don't make me mad, I'll keep you around. I need an assistant, these vehicons only do so much good before I get tired of them," Knockout responded, returning to his work on her abdomen.

Cringing, she kept her retort to herself, glaring up at him for a moment, before admitting defeat for the moment. She had to keep in his good graces or make Shockwave think there was nothing overtly special about her. There was no way she was becoming one of the scientist's projects. She could even deal with being tortured again by Knockout in comparison to being treated like a lab rat.

"Shockwave wants the report," a voice stated over Fusion's head. She attempted to see who it was, only to have Knockout push her head back into a straight line with her body. Why he didn't want her to see who it was, she didn't understand, but she took the hint and remained still.

"Very well," Knockout stepped away and returned with a pad, presumably containing the scan and anything else he had noted upon studying the weapon's effects on her.

"Is this all?" the voice sounded disappointed and annoyed. Fusion wondered what else they were expecting.

"She's not normal. The effect is going to vary greatly… if Shockwave wants true readings, he needs to learn how to aim better," Knockout snapped, returning to the work he'd been doing before Fusion spoke up.

"Slag, he's going to turn me into scrap when I turn this in to him," the voice disappeared behind the swishing of the door closing, the lock engaging as it shut.

Knockout barely looked up at the locking of the door or the annoyed voice. There was something lodged in Fusion's abdomen and he was seeking it with his fingers. She could feel them inside of her, moving amongst the wires and fluids that made up her body. The silence was deafening and she began to feel uncomfortable with it.

"I'm not normal?" Fusion winced as Knockout slipped with what he was doing, his concentration most likely broken by her words.

"…Would you define yourself as normal in comparison to Cybertronian standards?" Knockout snapped, standing up straight and wiping his hands off on a cloth, her energon staining the white of the cloth purple.

"What is this burning inside of me?" Fusion changed the subject, recognizing a lost fight.

"A virus… one that Shockwave developed to incapacitate but not kill our opponents," Knockout stated matter-of-factly, "The antivirus will be arriving shortly, but you've a long time before the virus reaches your processor… and with you, I doubt even that would deactivate you."

"…Is the virus the reason I can't move?" Fusion asked, trying to keep her tone even and non-confrontational, for now.

Knockout merely nodded and moved forward, slipping his fingers inside the wound cavity once more, retrieving the fragment he had been seeking. A string of muttered curses escaped his lips as the fragment plinked into a bowl beside him. Once he was finished with the wound, he repaired it and wrapped her middle region in a bandage, something he didn't seem very adept at. She supposed it was her 'abnormal' design that made it difficult for him to work on her wounds. A patch wouldn't hold to her biotech skin.

A few hours passed, leaving them in silence. The pain was escalating and Fusion had a hard time fighting it and the darkness that was beginning to crowd her line of vision again. With everything Knockout had put her through during their time together the first time, she had not felt pain like she was now experiencing. And for once, he was trying to stop it, instead of inflicting it. She couldn't help but notice that he actually looked at her with sympathy each time she would wince or cringe at the latest bout of pain that lanced through her systems. It was the first time she felt grateful for the presence of the medic.

Just as she gasped from a new wave of pain, the door opened again. Out of the corner of her optic Fusion caught sight of black and orange armor and a flash of claws. Before she could assess whether it was a mech or a femme, a wave of intense pain flooded her processor and she had to close her optics, her back arching involuntarily.

"Give that to me," Knockout snapped as he grabbed the vile the other carried and slipped it into an injector gun.

The prick of the needle sliding into her arm was barely discernable from the rest of her pain, but Fusion was acutely aware of when it happened and the burning sensation that spread through her form was like a lava flow. When the antivirus hit the virus, she felt as though her innards were melting from the heat. All of her attention focused on this pain and she forgot all that was around her, screaming as the agony continued to increase.

"You're awake, I thought maybe my assumptions about you were wrong," Knockout's voice broke through a haze around her as, slowly, she opened her optics.

The pain was still there, but it was more like an after affect now. It was thrumming in her body, making her pull in copious amounts of air through her vents, only to release them again slowly. It had been a long time since pain had engulfed her. Though, it had never been quite like that.

"You've still got that spirit," Knockout commented, leaning down and running a finger along her faceplate, tracing the same line as when he had scratched her six years previous. There was no scratch this time, just his finger tracing the line of her features. As he reached her lips, she reached up and gripped his wrist, barely aware that her arm was actually responding to her commands.

"Don't," the word came out in a gasp, her optics only partially open.

"Hm," Knockout stood to his full height, easily slipping from her grasp. He continued to look down at her, "Very well, we'll 'talk' more when you're stronger. For now, lie still and don't move too much. The antivirus is still working to clear the last remnants from your energon reserves."

With these orders, he stepped away, turning his back to her and going over some new scans he had taken. Fusion looked at them over his shoulder, they appeared to be of the antivirus's path through her systems. Something was telling her to be concerned that he had so much information on her design now, but she couldn't bring herself to care. Not right then, her body was still too weak to worry about who was doing the repair work. And, at least she knew, he was willing to keep her functioning. What happened after all this, she didn't know.

What she did know was that she wouldn't give in to him willingly. That she would maintain his good graces to be saved from Shockwave's experiments, but she wouldn't allow him to control her completely. It would be a thin line between the two, but she planned upon walking it. If she didn't, there wouldn't be any point to living anyway.


End file.
